Young Farmers is celebrating its 85th year with a public awareness week from September 18 to 22.
National Young Farmers Week aims to raise the public awareness of its local clubs and what its members get up to.
The rural-based youth organisation has 619 clubs and more than 23,500 members.
It provides anyone between the ages of 10 and 26 with an opportunity to develop skills, work with their local communities, travel abroad, take part in a varied competitions programme and enjoy a dynamic social life.
Essex Young Farmers press officer Fiona Rust said clubs in the county were thriving and active, with a successful show held in Roxwell every year which attracted 16,200 visitors this year.
She added: “In Essex we have 10 thriving clubs with more than 390 members.
“Each club gets involved with sporting activities, visits and talks, competitions, socials as well as events which see the whole county come together.
“This benefits young people by providing opportunities to meet new people and try new things which in more rural areas can be challenging. Members also benefit from funding towards travels and training with over £6,000 being awarded to members last year.
“This is a huge benefit that enables everyone to challenge and further themselves personally and professionally.”
Essex Young Farmers also raised a huge amount for charity - £38,800 in 2016/17, she said.
Its efforts were rewarded with the Prince of Wales Trophy for the most money per member raised for external organisations.
It was a “huge” achievement, said Fiona.
“We are a very active county,” she said.
She stressed that members don’t have to be a farmer to be a young farmer.
Many members came from very varied backgrounds, she said, including accountancy and teaching, and there were also students within the ranks of the Essex clubs.
Despite its many achievements, the organisation was still “quite unknown” in the county, she said, and she wanted to get the word out about all that club members get up to and how new people can become involved. If you are interested in finding out more about Essex Young Farmers visit http://essexyoungfarmers.com/ or find it on Facebook or Twitter.
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